Posts Tagged «Start Screen»

According to new Windows 9 leaks and rumors, it seems we could be in for some dramatic changes by the time the first public preview of Windows 9 rolls around on September 30. The most recent leaked builds of Windows 9 (codename Threshold) indicate that Microsoft will finally fix the awful upgrade process that has plagued Windows for almost two decades, replacing it with a one-click upgrade system. Perhaps more excitingly, another source says that Windows 9 will formally split the Metro and Desktop interfaces: Tablets will be restricted to Metro, while laptops and desktops will be locked to the standard Desktop interface.

Over the last couple of days, screenshots that purport to be from an early build of Windows 9 (Threshold) have leaked online. Most notably, one of these screenshots includes the new, resurrected Start menu that Microsoft first showed off at its Build conference in April. Another screenshot shows Metro apps running in a window on the Desktop.

Microsoft, recognizing the disappointing truth that iOS and Android aren’t going to being chivalrous and slow down while it fixes Windows 8, is planning to speed up its release cadence yet again. The original plan was to push out a large update every 12 months, rather than releasing a whole new operating system every three years. Now, however, it seems the next major update will arrive as soon as August or September, just a few months after the release of Windows 8.1 Update 1. Yes, this means that, after a very odd 18 months in limbo, the Start menu will officially return this summer.

At its Build 2014 conference, Microsoft has revealed that a future update to Windows 8.1 will resurrect the Start menu. No, really, stop looking at your calendar — it isn’t April 1 any more. The same Windows 8.1 update will also allow you to run Metro apps in a window on the Desktop. Yes, it took Microsoft more than three years to backtrack on Windows 8’s nightmarish interface and usability changes, but it seems the company is finally coming around to the fact that it shouldn’t ignore the needs of hundreds of millions of PC users.

Firefox 28 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android has been released. On the desktop side of the equation, Firefox 28 adds support for the VP9 video codec… and that’s about it. Why I hear you ask? Well, Firefox 28 was meant to include the long-awaited Windows 8 Metro version of the browser — but at the last minute, citing almost zero demand for Windows 8’s Metro interface and ‘flat’ growth, Mozilla’s vice president for Firefox decided to terminate the project and pull the code out of version 28.

At long last, the Windows 8 Metro environment has a decent media player that can play MKV files: VLC for Windows 8! VLC Media Player Beta for Windows 8 is a complete reimagining of VLC for Microsoft’s touch-oriented Metro interface, but still with most of the functionality that makes the Desktop version of VLC so awesome. VLC for Windows 8 includes support for the MKV container format, the H.264 codec (along with its various containers/file formats), and almost every other codec under the sun (just like VLC on the Desktop).

The latest build of Windows 8.1 Update 1 has leaked, revealing many of the changes that Microsoft hopes will make Metro less painful for desktop users. The biggest change appears to be that Windows 8.1 Update 1 will boot straight to the Desktop interface by default, reducing Metro to its rightful role as a full-screen Start menu. This, of course, would be a complete 180 from the original release of Windows 8, which defaulted to the Metro interface and lacked an easy way to see the Desktop after logging in.

We’ve all been there: You’re just sitting there peacefully at your computer, perhaps with your mom or girlfriend looking over your shoulder while you show her some travel snaps, when suddenly a noisy video starts playing in the background. What follows is a manic hunt to find and shut down that embarrassing emanation, preferably before the first expletive, moan, or power chord gushes forth from your speakers. With the new stable version of Chrome, however, you will now see a speaker icon in tabs that are currently making noise. Genius.

To distance itself from the Windows 8 snafu, Microsoft’s next major update — Threshold — will reportedly skip Windows 8.2 and jump straight to Windows 9. Windows 9 is expected to arrive in April 2015, with internal sources saying that Windows 9 will make good on many of the Windows 8 features that caused such cruel and unusual distress to Desktop users. The Start menu is expected to make its illustrious return, and you should be able to run Metro apps on the Desktop in windows. Microsoft is still on schedule to release Windows Phone 8.1 and a service/feature pack for Windows 8.1 at the Build conference in April.

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